Is that a Garbage Truck?
by lizfirestarter
Summary: Set during 'Career Day.' Liz & Red are the paranormal investigators that Dib shadows. Will be multi part. We might even take Dib back to BPRD, won't that be fun? Reviews encouraged and appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

**Characters**: Liz Sherman, Dib

**Fandom**: Hellboy, Invader ZIM

**Setting**: Invader ZIM episode 06A Career Day

Part 1 of ??? I am in love w/ this idea so more will be coming.

_Manning is insane!_ Liz thought as she moved slowly down the hall of the dirty public school, feeling her nose crinkle in disgust as her eyes landed on filthy classroom after filthy classroom. For a moment she found herself almost thankful she attended Catholic school instead of one of these sad government institutions. The fact that she now worked for a government institution was not lost on her though, and she let out a little laugh as she pulled a tissue from her plain purse to open the door to the wing she needed to get to.

She smiled slightly as not one of the the eyes in the hallway out side the classroom turned to her as she made her way to an open chair, the perfectly normal dress she was wearing flitting about as she sat down with a sigh. She blended in perfectly, but that was the point. It wouldn't do to walk into a place like this with her BPRD jacket and belt full of guns and equipment, would it?

Liz waited for sometime, and was nearly ready to stand and head outside for a cigarette when the door to the classroom burst open and pack of children emptied into the hallway, each looking very disappointed save one, a dark haired lad with big glasses, wild hair and a head that was bigger than a watermelon.

The boy with an abnormally large head paused a moment at the door, turning his attention to another boy with oddly green skin. Liz made a mental note to look into that glaring abnormality, but now what not the time for that. She could look into that further when she returned to the school to drop off the child that would be "shadowing" her and Hellboy today.

"Looks like I'll be getting teamed up with a respected paranormal investigator, Zim. He's sure to see through your pitiful disguise, and then we'll take you back to his secret lab, and then we'll perform all kinds of tests on you. HORRIBLE TESTS!" The bigheaded boy gloated to the green kid, an almost comical air of superiority about him.

_What a little bastard! Being mean to someone just because they're different._ Liz thought as a small frown spread across her lips. She watched the boys closely until they parted ways, the green one heading off with a teenager in a Mc Meaties uniform. Guess there are worse jobs in the world than running around a sewer at 3AM.

The dark haired boy's eyes squinted behind his glasses as he made his way down the hall, craning his head to try and find the respected paranormal investigator he had just mentioned. He looked at each normal looking man in a suit in the place, each time rejected by them and told to move along. _Boy, would he be in for a surprise._

The intel said this kid was very adamant about the existence of paranormals and aliens yet no one, not even his own family, believed him. Manning rationalized that showing a kid that was already viewed as insane a secret organization like BPRD would do no real harm. Anything he would say would be dismissed as the words of a child with a very over active imagination and too much sugar in his blood stream. The icing on the cake was the fact that this boy, despite his age, seemed to have knowledge of the paranormal that the BPRD themselves had not been able to find. He was even compared to a young Trevor Broom, only…crazier.

Liz stood and walked over to him, as he seemed to be giving up hope at finding his career day mentor.

"Your name Dib?" She reached over and tapped his shoulder, putting on her friendliest tone. She was not looking forward to this, but she had a hunch Red would be even less enthused with it. Still, orders were orders, and she could pretend with the best of them.

"Yes?" He glanced back at her with skepticism that was beyond his years.

"I'm Liz." She held out her hand to him with a smile that almost made her face ache. "Hear you like looking for monsters." She said nonchalantly. "My partner and I can teach you about that."

"You're the paranormal investigator?" His eyes widened in shock so obvious that Liz would have found insulting if it didn't remind her so much of John Myers. Shame that guy got sent to Antarctica, but the moment Hellboy had found out Myers had a 'thing' for his girlfriend, the threats came down and Myers was packing the Gortex and fur lined boots.

"What were you expecting, some big guy with a huge leather coat, a fantastically large gun and a cigar hanging out of his mouth?" Liz smirked and folded her arms over her chest.

"I kinda was." Dib looked at her unable to hide the fact he was let down by the petite woman that stood before him.

"Sorry to disappoint." Her eyes rolled as she sighed and started to make her way to the exit, expecting Dib to follow.

"No wait! I have something to show you! There's an actual alien in my class and I…" Dib's short legs carried him after her as he shouted about aliens full volume for the entire world to hear. His classmates and even some of the adults took a moment to laugh cruelly at him as he rushed by, but the boy paid them no mind.

"Plenty of time for that later, kid." Liz pushed the door to the outside open and squinted at the bright sunshine, sliding on a pair of sunglasses a second later. It felt good to be outside in the daylight, but it would also make keeping Red under wraps all the more difficult.

Dib raced after her then suddenly came to a dead halt as his eyes fell onto the Squeaky Clean Garbage Truck that was parked in the school bus loading zone.

"Is that a garbage truck?" He stood with his mouth agape as Liz walked over to the back, it's hatch door already rising so she could enter. She gasped and nearly slipped as she stepped up, due to the heels she was wearing. Dib could have sworn the hand that reached out to catch her and help her inside the truck was…red.

_No, it couldn't be._

"You comin' or what, short stuff?" Dib heard a booming male voice from inside truck call to him. He glanced around the schoolyard, his classmates filing into the respective vehicles of the firefighters, doctors and lawyers they had been paired with. He let a satisfied chuckle escape him as he watched Zim climb into the teenagers rusted out passenger car to take them both to McMeaties. The cars bumper was held on with duct tape and the back window was covered in sticker of long forgotten hair metal bands.

"Dib!" Liz stuck her head out from the back of the truck and called to him. "Come on, we've got a code five that can't be kept waiting. Let's move."

Dib took off running for the truck, a gleeful smile spread over his lips. _Code five? That's even better than a code four! Whatever a code four was._

He couldn't wait to tell everyone about this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Characters**: Liz Sherman, Hellboy, Dib

**Fandom**: Hellboy, Invader ZIM

**Rating**: PG

**Prompt**: SciFi_Muses Vol 2. Week 23

_The Letter M: What's wrong with you? All you talk about is aliens and ghosts and seeing Bigfoot in your garage!  
Dib: He was using the belt sander..._

**Setting**: Invader ZIM episode 06A Career Day

Part 2 of ???

It took Dib considerable more effort to get into the back of the Squeaky Clean garbage truck than it did Liz. She was already behind the certain changing out of the floral print dress and heels and into the uniform she was more accustomed too. It wouldn't be going too far to say she missed her guns.

Because of this, the only hand left to reach out to help the budding paranormal investigator into the truck belonged to Hellboy. While a normal little boy would have screamed, cried or worse, but Dib simple tilted his head as he dangled from Hellboy's hand. The big red demon had honestly been expecting someone a lot taller, and older.

"You're just a kid?" Hellboy frowned as he set the boy gently on the floor of the truck as it started to rumble and pull away from the school. Dib remained silent, his wide eyes darting from computer screen to map to the array of guns that hung on the wall. He was too busy drooling to pay much attention to what the very odd - couple he shared the truck with were saying to each other.

"Red, do you even listen to me?" Liz stepped out from behind the curtain in her signature black leather jacket and pants. She reached over Dib's massive head to the equipment case, her belt was soon loaded up with guns, ammunitions and little bits of equipment that blinked and chirped every once and a while. "I told you on the way over here." She propped her foot up in the table and tightened the laces of her boots as she smiled at Dib. He paid no attention to her, distracted by the bullets that seemed to have…oak and silver floating in them. I Brilliant!/I

"Yeah you said something about a new guy and some kinda outreach thingy and I had to put a shirt on." Red sat down in a large chair in a way that made the already shaking truck shake even more. "Geez, Babe. You gotta be more specific. We ain't babysitters."

"Don't…" Liz didn't have to say anything more as she pointed a finger at her boyfriend and scowled. He knew he'd better shut up, and quick.

"What…are you?" Dib finally turned away from the computer screen that had the biological specifications of a Scottish Troll pulled up. He walked right up to Hellboy with a confident look on his face. The demon just sneered and shot back. "What are you, kid?"

"Stop it." Liz slid a chair over to Dib and motioned for him to sit. "Dib, this is Hellboy. Hellboy, Dib." She leaned against the table and clicked off the screen. "But to answer your real question, we are part of the _Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense." _

"Wait…Hellboy?" Dib's eyes dropped to Red's right arm as his eyes became as big as saucers again.

"YES! I WAS RIGHT! It was now Red and Liz's turn to drop their jaws in shock.

"Right about what?" Red asked after a minute. He stuffed a cigar in his and tried to light it with his trusty zippo.

"They said you were a hoax." Dib said honestly. "I heard about you years ago! Imagine the looks on their faces when I tell them I spend the day with Hellboy and…" His eyes fell to Liz again, a look of sudden realization washing over his face. "and SPARKY!"

"Don't…" Liz gave Dib a similar look as the one she'd given Red a moment ago for the 'Babe' comment. "Liz, just Liz. Alright?" She reached over and waved her hand in front of Hellboy's cigar, her fingertips flickering a moment as he smiled at her in thanks. Who needs a lighter when your girl's a firestarter, after all?

The truck came to an abrupt halt, nearly knocking Dib to the floor before Hellboy reached out his stone hand to steady him. Dib knew better than to stare at it, or the filed down horns that graced Red's forehead. This simple fact earned him major points with the big guy.

Dib did, however, wonder if it had been a good idea to have his father sign that permission slip and release to let him go to "work" with his career day mentor. These concerns only grew as Red though a BPRD bullet, and teeth proof, jacket over Dib. The boy was nearly swimming in it.

"Come on, kid. Let's go fight some monsters." He smirked as the hatch door opened again.


End file.
